Double Integrals

Before starting on double integrals lets do a quick review of the definition of a definite integrals
for functions of single variables. First, when working with the integral,
b

f ( x ) dx
a

we think of xs as coming from the interval a x b . For these integrals we can say that we are
integrating over the interval a x b . Note that this does assume that a < b , however, if we
have b < a then we can just use the interval b x a .
Now, when we derived the definition of the definite integral we first thought of this as an area
problem. We first asked what the area under the curve was and to do this we broke up the
interval a x b into n subintervals of width Dx and choose a point, xi* , from each interval as
shown below,

( )

Each of the rectangles has height of f xi* and we could then use the area of each of these
rectangles to approximate the area as follows.

A f ( x1* ) Dx + f ( x2* ) Dx + L + f ( xi* ) Dx + L + f ( xn* ) Dx

To get the exact area we then took the limit as n goes to infinity and this was also the definition of
the definite integral.

b
a

f ( x ) dx = lim f ( xi* ) Dx
n

i =1

In this section we want to integrate a function of two variables, f ( x, y ) . With functions of one
variable we integrated over an interval (i.e. a one-dimensional space) and so it makes some sense
then that when integrating a function of two variables we will integrate over a region of 2 (twodimensional space).

We will start out by assuming that the region in 2 is a rectangle which we will denote as
follows,

R = [ a , b ] [ c, d ]

This means that the ranges for x and y are a x b and c y d .

Also, we will initially assume that f ( x, y ) 0 although this doesnt really have to be the case.
Lets start out with the graph of the surface S given by graphing f ( x, y ) over the rectangle R.

Now, just like with functions of one variable lets not worry about integrals quite yet. Lets first
ask what the volume of the region under S (and above the xy-plane of course) is.
We will first approximate the volume much as we approximated the area above. We will first
divide up a x b into n subintervals and divide up c y d into m subintervals. This will
divide up R into a series of smaller rectangles and from each of these we will choose a point
xi* , y*j . Here is a sketch of this set up.

Now, over each of these smaller rectangles we will construct a box whose height is given by

f ( xi* , y*j ) . Here is a sketch of that.

Each of the rectangles has a base area of D A and a height of f xi* , y*j so the volume of each of

these boxes is f xi* , y*j D A . The volume under the surface S is then approximately,
n

V f ( xi* , y*j ) D A
i =1 j =1

We will have a double sum since we will need to add up volumes in both the x and y directions.
To get a better estimation of the volume we will take n and m larger and larger and to get the
exact volume we will need to take the limit as both n and m go to infinity. In other words,

V = lim

n , m

f ( x , y ) D A
*
i

i =1 j =1

*
j

Now, this should look familiar. This looks a lot like the definition of the integral of a function of
single variable. In fact this is also the definition of a double integral, or more exactly an integral
of a function of two variables over a rectangle.
Here is the official definition of a double integral of a function of two variables over a rectangular
region R as well as the notation that well use for it.

f ( x, y ) dA = lim

n , m

f ( x , y ) D A
i =1 j =1

*
i

*
j

Note the similarities and differences in the notation to single integrals. We have two integrals to
denote the fact that we are dealing with a two dimensional region and we have a differential here
as well. Note that the differential is dA instead of the dx and dy that were used to seeing. Note
as well that we dont have limits on the integrals in this notation. Instead we have the R written
below the two integrals to denote the region that we are integrating over.
Note that one interpretation of the double integral of f ( x, y ) over the rectangle R is the volume
under the function f ( x, y ) (and above the xy-plane). Or,

Volume = f ( x, y ) dA
R

We can use this double sum in the definition to estimate the value of a double integral if we need

to. We can do this by choosing xi* , y*j to be the midpoint of each rectangle. When we do this

we usually denote the point as xi , y j . This leads to the Midpoint Rule,

f ( x, y ) dA f ( xi , y j ) D A
i =1 j =1

In the next section we start looking at how to actually compute double integrals.

Iterated Integrals
In the previous section we gave the definition of the double integral. However, just like with the
definition of a single integral the definition is very difficult to use in practice and so we need to
start looking into how we actually compute double integrals. We will continue to assume that we
are integrating over the rectangle

[ a , b ] [ c, d ]

=
R

We will look at more general regions in the next section.

The following theorem tells us how to compute a double integral over a rectangle.
Fubinis Theorem
If f ( x, y ) is continuous on
=
R

[ a, b] [c, d ] then,
b

d
=
=
f
x
,
y
dA
f ( x, y ) dy dx
(
)
R
a c
c

a f ( x, y ) dx dy
b

These integrals are called iterated integrals.

Note that there are in fact two ways of computing a double integral and also notice that the inner
differential matches up with the limits on the inner integral and similarly for the outer differential
and limits. In other words, if the inner differential is dy then the limits on the inner integral must
be y limits of integration and if the outer differential is dy then the limits on the outer integral
must be y limits of integration.
Now, on some level this is just notation and doesnt really tell us how to compute the double
integral. Lets just take the first possibility above and change the notation a little.

d
f ( x, y ) dA =
c f ( x, y ) dy dx

We will compute the double integral by first computing

c f ( x, y ) dy
d

and we compute this by holding x constant and integrating with respect to y as if this were a
single integral. This will give a function involving only xs which we can in turn integrate.
Weve done a similar process with partial derivatives. To take the derivative of a function with
respect to y we treated the xs as constants and differentiated with respect to y as if it was a
function of a single variable.
Double integrals work in the same manner. We think of all the xs as constants and integrate with
respect to y or we think of all ys as constants and integrate with respect to x.
Lets take a look at some examples.

Example 1 Compute each of the following double integrals over the indicated rectangles.
(a) 6 xy 2 dA =
, R [ 2, 4] [1, 2] [Solution]
R

(b)

2 x 4 y
R

(c)

dA , R =
[ 5, 4] [0,3] [Solution]

y 2 + cos ( x ) + sin ( y ) dA , R =[ 2, 1] [ 0,1] [Solution]

(d)

( 2 x + 3 y )
R

(e)

xe

xy

[0,1] [1, 2]

R
dA ,=

[Solution]

dA , R =
[ 1, 2] [0,1] [Solution]

Solution
(a) 6 xy 2 dA =
, R

[ 2, 4] [1, 2]

It doesnt matter which variable we integrate with respect to first, we will get the same answer
regardless of the order of integration. To prove that lets work this one with each order to make
sure that we do get the same answer.
Solution 1
In this case we will integrate with respect to y first. So, the iterated integral that we need to
compute is,

6 xy
R

dA =
2

1 6 xy

dy dx

When setting these up make sure the limits match up to the differentials. Since the dy is the inner
differential (i.e. we are integrating with respect to y first) the inner integral needs to have y limits.
To compute this we will do the inner integral first and we typically keep the outer integral around
as follows,
2
3
R 6 xy dA = 2 ( 2 xy ) 1 dx

2 16 x 2 x dx

= 14 x dx
2

Remember that we treat the x as a constant when doing the first integral and we dont do any
integration with it yet. Now, we have a normal single integral so lets finish the integral by
computing this.
2
84
dA 7=
x2
6 xy=
4
2

Solution 2
In this case well integrate with respect to x first and then y. Here is the work for this solution.
2

2
R 6 xy dA = 1

2 6 xy

dx dy

= ( 3 x 2 y 2 ) dy
2
1
2

= 36 y 2 dy
1

= 12 y 3

2
1

= 84
Sure enough the same answer as the first solution.
So, remember that we can do the integration in any order.
[Return to Problems]

(b)

2 x 4 y

dA , R =
[ 5, 4] [0,3]

For this integral well integrate with respect to y first.

4

3
3

=
x
y
dA
2
4
2 x 4 y 3 dy dx
R
5 0

= ( 2 xy y 4 ) dx
0
5
4

5 6 x 81 dx

( 3x

81x )

4
5

= 756
Remember that when integrating with respect to y all xs are treated as constants and so as far as
the inner integral is concerned the 2x is a constant and we know that when we integrate constants
with respect to y we just tack on a y and so we get 2xy from the first term.
[Return to Problems]

(c)

y 2 + cos ( x ) + sin ( y ) dA , R =[ 2, 1] [ 0,1]

In this case well integrate with respect to x first.

2 2
1 x 2 y 2 + cos ( x ) + sin ( y ) dx dy
+
+
=

x
y
x
y
dA
cos
sin
(
)
(
)
R
0 2

1
1

= x3 y 2 + sin ( x ) + x sin ( y ) dy

2
0 3
1

7 2
=
y + sin ( y ) dy
0 3
1

7 3 1
y cos ( y )
=
9

0
=

7 2
+
9

Dont forget your basic Calculus I substitutions!

[Return to Problems]

(d)

( 2 x + 3 y )

R
dA ,=

[0,1] [1, 2]

In this case because the limits for x are kind of nice (i.e. they are zero and one which are often
nice for evaluation) lets integrate with respect to x first. Well also rewrite the integrand to help
with the first integration.

( 2 x + 3 y )
R

dA =
1

=
1

0 ( 2 x + 3 y )
1

dx dy
1

1
1
( 2 x + 3 y ) dy
2
0

1
1
1
=

dy
2 1 2 + 3 y 3 y
2

11
1

=
ln 2 + 3 y ln y
23
3
1
1
=
( ln 8 ln 2 ln 5 )
6

[Return to Problems]

(e)

xe

xy

dA , R =
[ 1, 2] [0,1]

Now, while we can technically integrate with respect to either variable first sometimes one way is
significantly easier than the other way. In this case it will be significantly easier to integrate with
respect to y first as we will see.

 xe

xy

dA =

1 0

xe xy dy dx

The y integration can be done with the quick substitution,

=
u xy
=
du x dy

which gives

xe

xy

e x 1 dx

dA = e xy dx

(ex x )

2
1

= e 2 ( e 1 + 1)
2

=e 2 e 1 3
So, not too bad of an integral there provided you get the substitution. Now lets see what would
happen if we had integrated with respect to x first.

xe
R

xy

dA =

0 1

xe xy dx dy

In order to do this we would have to use integration by parts as follows,

=
u x=
dv e xy dx
=
du dx
=
v

1 xy
e
y

The integral is then,

1

x
1 xy
xy
xy
x
dA
=

e
e

e dx dy
R
y
y
1
0
2

1
= e xy 2 e xy dy
y
y
1
0
2

1
1
1
= e 2 y 2 e 2 y e y 2 e y dy
y
y
0 y

y
Were not even going to continue here as these are very difficult integrals to do.
[Return to Problems]

As we saw in the previous set of examples we can do the integral in either direction. However,
sometimes one direction of integration is significantly easier than the other so make sure that you
think about which one you should do first before actually doing the integral.
The next topic of this section is a quick fact that can be used to make some iterated integrals
somewhat easier to compute on occasion.

Fact
=
R
If f ( x, y ) = g ( x ) h ( y ) and we are integrating over the rectangle

=
f ( x, y ) dA
R

g ( x ) h ( y ) dA
=
R

b
a

g ( x ) dx

)(

d
c

[ a, b] [c, d ] then,
h ( y ) dy

So, if we can break up the function into a function only of x times a function of y then we can do
the two integrals individually and multiply them together.
Lets do a quick example using this integral.

Example 2 Evaluate

[ 2,3] 0, .
x cos ( y ) dA , R =
2
2

Solution
Since the integrand is a function of x times a function of y we can use the fact.
2
x cos ( y ) dA =
R

2
x
dx
2 0 cos ( y ) dy
3

1 1
= x 2 2 1 + cos ( 2 y ) dy
2 2 2 0

1
5 1
2
= y + sin ( 2 y )
2
2 2
0

5
=
8

We have one more topic to discuss in this section. This topic really doesnt have anything to do
with iterated integrals, but this is as good a place as any to put it and there are liable to be some
questions about it at this point as well so this is as good a place as any.
What we want to do is discuss single indefinite integrals of a function of two variables. In other
words we want to look at integrals like the following.

x sec ( 2 y ) + 4 xy dy
2

x3 e

x
y

dx

From Calculus I we know that these integrals are asking what function that we differentiated to
get the integrand. However, in this case we need to pay attention to the differential (dy or dx) in
the integral, because that will change things a little.
In the case of the first integral we are asking what function we differentiated with respect to y to
get the integrand while in the second integral were asking what function differentiated with

respect to x to get the integrand. For the most part answering these questions isnt that difficult.
The important issue is how we deal with the constant of integration.
Here are the integrals.

dy
x sec ( 2 y ) + 4 xy=
2

x
tan ( 2 y ) + 2 xy 2 + g ( x )
2
x

1 4
3 y
y
x
dx
x
y
e
e

=
+
+ h( y)

Notice that the constants of integration are now functions of the opposite variable. In the first
integral we are differentiating with respect to y and we know that any function involving only xs
will differentiate to zero and so when integrating with respect to y we need to acknowledge that
there may have been a function of only xs in the function and so the constant of integration is a
function of x.
Likewise, in the second integral, the constant of integration must be a function of y since we are
integrating with respect to x. Again, remember if we differentiate the answer with respect to x
then any function of only ys will differentiate to zero.

Double Integrals Over General Regions

In the previous section we looked at double integrals over rectangular regions. The problem with
this is that most of the regions are not rectangular so we need to now look at the following double
integral,

f ( x, y ) dA
D

where D is any region.

There are two types of regions that we need to look at. Here is a sketch of both of them.

We will often use set builder notation to describe these regions. Here is the definition for the
region in Case 1

D = {( x, y ) | a x b, g1 ( x ) y g 2 ( x )}

and here is the definition for the region in Case 2.

D = {( x, y ) | h1 ( y ) x h2 ( y ) , c y d }

This notation is really just a fancy way of saying we are going to use all the points, ( x, y ) , in
which both of the coordinates satisfy the two given inequalities.
The double integral for both of these cases are defined in terms of iterated integrals as follows.
In Case 1 where D =

{( x, y ) | a x b, g ( x ) y g ( x )} the integral is defined to be,

1

g 2 ( x)

f ( x, y ) dA = a g ( x) f ( x, y ) dy dx
1

In Case 2 where D =

{( x, y ) | h ( y ) x h ( y ) , c y d } the integral is defined to be,

1

f ( x, y ) dA =

h2 ( y)

h ( y ) f ( x, y ) dx dy
1

DoubleIntegralsinPolarCoordinates
To this point weve seen quite a few double integrals. However, in every case weve seen to this
point the region D could be easily described in terms of simple functions in Cartesian coordinates.
In this section we want to look at some regions that are much easier to describe in terms of polar
coordinates. For instance, we might have a region that is a disk, ring, or a portion of a disk or
ring. In these cases using Cartesian coordinates could be somewhat cumbersome. For instance
lets suppose we wanted to do the following integral,

f ( x, y ) dA,

D is the disk of radius 2

To this we would have to determine a set of inequalities for x and y that describe this region.
These would be,

2 x 2

4 x2 y 4 x2
With these limits the integral would become,

f ( x, y ) dA =

2

4 x2
4 x2

f ( x, y ) dy dx

Due to the limits on the inner integral this is liable to be an unpleasant integral to compute.
However, a disk of radius 2 can be defined in polar coordinates by the following inequalities,

0 2
0r 2

These are very simple limits and, in fact, are constant limits of integration which almost always
makes integrals somewhat easier.
So, if we could convert our double integral formula into one involving polar coordinates we
would be in pretty good shape. The problem is that we cant just convert the dx and the dy into a
dr and a d . In computing double integrals to this point we have been using the fact that
dA = dx dy and this really does require Cartesian coordinates to use. Once weve moved into
polar coordinates dA dr d and so were going to need to determine just what dA is under
polar coordinates.
So, lets step back a little bit and start off with a general region in terms of polar coordinates and
see what we can do with that. Here is a sketch of some region using polar coordinates.

So, our general region will be defined by inequalities,

h1 ( ) r h2 ( )

Now, to find dA lets redo the figure above as follows,

As shown, well break up the region into a mesh of radial lines and arcs. Now, if we pull one of
the pieces of the mesh out as shown we have something that is almost, but not quite a rectangle.
The area of this piece is A . The two sides of this piece both have length r = ro ri where ro
is the radius of the outer arc and ri is the radius of the inner arc. Basic geometry then tells us that
the length of the inner edge is ri while the length of the out edge is ro where is the
angle between the two radial lines that form the sides of this piece.

Now, lets assume that weve taken the mesh so small that we can assume that ri ro = r and
with this assumption we can also assume that our piece is close enough to a rectangle that we can
also then assume that,

A r r

Also, if we assume that the mesh is small enough then we can also assume that,

dA A

dr r

With these assumptions we then get dA r dr d .

In order to arrive at this we had to make the assumption that the mesh was very small. This is not
an unreasonable assumption. Recall that the definition of a double integral is in terms of two
limits and as limits go to infinity the mesh size of the region will get smaller and smaller. In fact,
as the mesh size gets smaller and smaller the formula above becomes more and more accurate and
so we can say that,

dA = r dr d
Well see another way of deriving this once we reach the Change of Variables section later in this
chapter. This second way will not involve any assumptions either and so it maybe a little better
way of deriving this.
Before moving on it is again important to note that dA dr d . The actual formula for dA has
an r in it. It will be easy to forget this r on occasion, but as youll see without it some integrals
will not be possible to do.
Now, if were going to be converting an integral in Cartesian coordinates into an integral in polar
coordinates we are going to have to make sure that weve also converted all the xs and ys into
polar coordinates as well. To do this well need to remember the following conversion formulas,

x = r cos

y = r sin

r 2 = x2 + y 2

We are now ready to write down a formula for the double integral in terms of polar coordinates.

f ( x, y ) dA =

h 2 ( )
h1 ( )

f ( r cos , r sin ) r dr d

It is important to not forget the added r and dont forget to convert the Cartesian coordinates in
the function over to polar coordinates.
Lets look at a couple of examples of these kinds of integrals.

Example 1 Evaluate the following integrals by converting them into polar coordinates.
(a) 2 x y dA , D is the portion of the region between the circles of radius 2
D

and radius 5 centered at the origin that lies in the first quadrant. [Solution]
(b)

x2 + y 2

dA , D is the unit circle centered at the origin. [Solution]

Solution
(a) 2x y dA , D is the portion of the region between the circles of radius 2 and radius 5

centered at the origin that lies in the first quadrant.

First lets get D in terms of polar coordinates. The circle of radius 2 is given by r = 2 and the
circle of radius 5 is given by r = 5 . We want the region between them so we will have the
following inequality for r.

2r 5

Also, since we only want the portion that is in the first quadrant we get the following range of
s.

Now that weve got these we can do the integral.

2 5
D 2 x y dA = 0 2 2 ( r cos )( r sin ) r dr d

Dont forget to do the conversions and to add in the extra r. Now, lets simplify and make use of
the double angle formula for sine to make the integral a little easier.

2 5 3
D 2 x y dA = 0 2 r sin ( 2 ) dr d

21 4
=
r sin ( 2 ) d
0 4
2
5

2 609
=
sin ( 2 ) d

0 4

2
609
=
cos ( 2 )
8
0

609
4
[Return to Problems]

(b)

x2 + y 2

dA , D is the unit circle centered at the origin.

In this case we cant do this integral in terms of Cartesian coordinates. We will however be able
to do it in polar coordinates. First, the region D is defined by,

0 2
0 r 1

In terms of polar coordinates the integral is then,

x
e

+ y2

dA =
0

1
0

r e r dr d
2

Notice that the addition of the r gives us an integral that we can now do. Here is the work for this
integral.
x
e
D

+ y2

dA =
0

1
0

r e r dr d

1 r2
=
e d
0
0 2
1

2
1

=
( e 1) d
0 2

= ( e 1)
[Return to Problems]

Lets not forget that we still have the two geometric interpretations for these integrals as well.

Example 2 Determine the area of the region that lies inside r = 3 + 2sin and outside r = 2 .
Solution
Here is a sketch of the region, D, that we want to determine the area of.

To determine this area well need to know that value of for which the two curves intersect. We
can determine these points by setting the two equations and solving.

3 + 2sin = 2
sin =

1
2

7 11
,
6 6

Here is a sketch of the figure with these angles added.

Note as well that weve acknowledged that 6 is another representation for the angle

11
6

. This

is important since we need the range of to actually enclose the regions as we increase from the
lower limit to the upper limit. If wed chosen to use 116 then as we increase from 76 to 116 we
would be tracing out the lower portion of the circle and that is not the region that we are after.
So, here are the ranges that will define the region.

7
6
6
2 r 3 + 2sin

To get the ranges for r the function that is closest to the origin is the lower bound and the function
that is farthest from the origin is the upper bound.
The area of the region D is then,

A = dA
D

7 6

3+ 2sin

7 6

r drd

3+ 2sin

1 2
=
r
6 2 2

7 6
5
=
+ 6sin + 2sin 2 d

6 2
7 6
7

=
+ 6sin cos ( 2 ) d
6 2
7
6

1
7

= 6 cos sin ( 2 )
2
2

11 3 14
+
= 24.187
2
3

Example 3 Determine the volume of the region that lies under the sphere x 2 + y 2 + z 2 = 9 ,
above the plane z = 0 and inside the cylinder x 2 + y 2 = 5 .
Solution
We know that the formula for finding the volume of a region is,

V = f ( x, y ) dA
D

In order to make use of this formula were going to need to determine the function that we should
be integrating and the region D that were going to be integrating over.
The function isnt too bad. Its just the sphere, however, we do need it to be in the form
z = f ( x, y ) . We are looking at the region that lies under the sphere and above the plane

z = 0 (just the xy-plane right?) and so all we need to do is solve the equation for z and when
taking the square root well take the positive one since we are wanting the region above the xyplane. Here is the function.

z = 9 x2 y 2
The region D isnt too bad in this case either. As we take points, ( x, y ) , from the region we need
to completely graph the portion of the sphere that we are working with. Since we only want the
portion of the sphere that actually lies inside the cylinder given by x 2 + y 2 = 5 this is also the
region D. The region D is the disk x 2 + y 2 5 in the xy-plane.
For reference purposes here is a sketch of the region that we are trying to find the volume of.

So, the region that we want the volume for is really a cylinder with a cap that comes from the
sphere.
We are definitely going to want to do this integral in terms of polar coordinates so here are the
limits (in polar coordinates) for the region,

0 2

0r 5
and well need to convert the function to polar coordinates as well.

z = 9 ( x2 + y 2 ) = 9 r 2

The volume is then,

V = 9 x 2 y 2 dA
D

5
0

r 9 r 2 dr d

1
= (9 r 2 )2

0 3
2
19

=
d
0 3

38
3

d
0

Example 4 Find the volume of the region that lies inside z = x 2 + y 2 and below the plane
z = 16 .
Solution
Lets start this example off with a quick sketch of the region.

Now, in this case the standard formula is not going to work. The formula

V = f ( x, y ) dA
D

finds the volume under the function f ( x, y ) and were actually after the area that is above a
function. This isnt the problem that it might appear to be however. First, notice that

V = 16 dA
D

will be the volume under z = 16 (of course well need to determine D eventually) while

V = x 2 + y 2 dA
D

is the volume under z = x + y , using the same D.

2

The volume that were after is really the difference between these two or,

V = 16 dA x 2 + y 2 dA = 16 ( x 2 + y 2 ) dA
D

Now all that we need to do is to determine the region D and then convert everything over to polar
coordinates.
Determining the region D in this case is not too bad. If we were to look straight down the z-axis
onto the region we would see a circle of radius 4 centered at the origin. This is because the top of
the region, where the elliptic paraboloid intersects the plane, is the widest part of the region. We
know the z coordinate at the intersection so, setting z = 16 in the equation of the paraboloid
gives,

16 = x 2 + y 2

which is the equation of a circle of radius 4 centered at the origin.

Here are the inequalities for the region and the function well be integrating in terms of polar
coordinates.

0 2
The volume is then,

0r4

z = 16 r 2

V = 16 ( x 2 + y 2 ) dA
D

r (16 r ) dr d

=
0

1

= 8r 2 r 4 d
4 0
0
=

2
0

64 d

= 128
In both of the previous volume problems we would have not been able to easily compute the
volume without first converting to polar coordinates so, as these examples show, it is a good idea
to always remember polar coordinates.
There is one more type of example that we need to look at before moving on to the next section.
Sometimes we are given an iterated integral that is already in terms of x and y and we need to
convert this over to polar so that we can actually do the integral. We need to see an example of
how to do this kind of conversion.

Example 5 Evaluate the following integral by first converting to polar coordinates.

1 y

cos ( x 2 + y 2 ) dx dy

0
0
1

Solution
First, notice that we cannot do this integral in Cartesian coordinates and so converting to polar
coordinates may be the only option we have for actually doing the integral. Notice that the
function will convert to polar coordinates nicely and so shouldnt be a problem.
Lets first determine the region that were integrating over and see if its a region that can be
easily converted into polar coordinates. Here are the inequalities that define the region in terms
of Cartesian coordinates.

0 y 1

0 x 1 y2
Now, the upper limit for the xs is,

x = 1 y2
and this looks like the right side of the circle of radius 1 centered at the origin. Since the lower
limit for the xs is x = 0 it looks like we are going to have a portion (or all) of the right side of
the disk of radius 1 centered at the origin.

The range for the ys however, tells us that we are only going to have positive ys. This means
that we are only going to have the portion of the disk of radius 1 centered at the origin that is in
the first quadrant.
So, we know that the inequalities that will define this region in terms of polar coordinates are
then,

2
0 r 1

Finally, we just need to remember that,

dx dy = dA = r dr d

and so the integral becomes,

1 y
1

cos ( x 2 + y 2 ) dx dy = 2 r cos ( r 2 ) dr d

0 0
0 0
1

Note that this is an integral that we can do. So, here is the rest of the work for this integral.

0 0

1 y 2

21
cos ( x 2 + y 2 ) dx dy = sin ( r 2 ) d
0 2
0

2 1
=
sin (1) d
0 2

sin (1)

Here are some properties of the double integral that we should go over before we actually do
some examples. Note that all three of these properties are really just extensions of properties of
single integrals that have been extended to double integrals.
Properties

1.

f ( x, y ) + g ( x, y ) dA = f ( x, y ) dA + g ( x, y ) dA
D

2.

cf ( x, y ) dA = c f ( x, y ) dA , where c is any constant.

D

3. If the region D can be split into two separate regions D1 and D2 then the integral can be written
as

f ( x, y ) dA = f ( x, y ) dA + f ( x, y ) dA
D

D1

D2

Lets take a look at some examples of double integrals over general regions.

Example 1 Evaluate each of the following integrals over the given region D.
x

(a) e y dA , D = {( x, y ) |1 y 2, y x y 3 } [Solution]

(b)

4 xy - y
D

(c)

6 x

dA , D is the region bounded by y = x and y = x3 . [Solution]

- 40 y dA , D is the triangle with vertices ( 0,3) , (1,1) , and ( 5,3) .

[Solution]

Solution
x

(a) e y dA , D =

{( x, y ) |1 y 2, y x y }
3

Okay, this first one is set up to just use the formula above so lets do that.
2

e dA = e dx dy = y e y
y

1
D
1
2

x
y

y3

x
y

y3

dy
y

= y e y - ye1 dy
2

1
1 2 1

= e y - y 2e1 = e4 - 2e1
2
2
1 2
[Return to Problems]

(b)

4 xy - y

dA , D is the region bounded by y = x and y = x3 .

In this case we need to determine the two inequalities for x and y that we need to do the integral.
The best way to do this is the graph the two curves. Here is a sketch.

So, from the sketch we can see that that two inequalities are,

0 x 1

x3 y x

We can now do the integral,

1

x
3
3
D 4 xy - y dA = 0 x3 4 xy - y dy dx
1

x

1 4
2
= 2 xy - y dx
4 x3
0
1
7 2
1 12
7
=
x - 2 x + x dx
0 4
4
1

1
1
55
7

= x 3 - x8 + x13 =
4
52 0 156
12
[Return to Problems]

(c)

6 x

- 40 y dA , D is the triangle with vertices ( 0,3) , (1,1) , and ( 5,3) .

We got even less information about the region this time. Lets start this off by sketching the
triangle.

Since we have two points on each edge it is easy to get the equations for each edge and so well
leave it to you to verify the equations.
Now, there are two ways to describe this region. If we use functions of x, as shown in the image
we will have to break the region up into two different pieces since the lower function is different
depending upon the value of x. In this case the region would be given by D = D1 D2 where,

D1 = {( x, y ) | 0 x 1, - 2 x + 3 y 3}

1
1

D2 = ( x, y ) |1 x 5, x + y 3
2
2

Note the is the union symbol and just means that D is the region we get by combing the two
regions. If we do this then well need to do two separate integrals, one for each of the regions.
To avoid this we could turn things around and solve the two equations for x to get,

1
3
y+
2
2

y = -2 x + 3

x=-

1
1
x+
2
2

x = 2 y -1

y=

If we do this we can notice that the same function is always on the right and the same function is
always on the left and so the region is,

1
3

D = ( x, y ) | - y + x 2 y - 1, 1 y 3
2
2

Writing the region in this form means doing a single integral instead of the two integrals wed
have to do otherwise.
Either way should give the same answer and so we can get an example in the notes of splitting a
region up lets do both integrals.

Solution 1

6 x
D

- 40 y dA = 6 x 2 - 40 y dA + 6 x 2 - 40 y dA
D1

D2

3
=
6 x 2 - 40 y dy dx +

0 - 2 x +3
1

3
1 1
x+
2 2

6 x 2 - 40 y dy dx

1
3
3
= ( 6 x 2 y - 20 y 2 )
dx +
6 x 2 y - 20 y 2 ) 1 1 dx
(

0
-2 x + 3
x+
1
2 2
1

= 12 x 3 - 180 + 20 ( 3 - 2 x ) dx + -3 x 3 + 15 x 2 - 180 + 20 ( 12 x + 12 ) dx
2

= 3 x 4 - 180 x - 103 ( 3 - 2 x )
=-

) + (1

3
4

x 4 + 5 x3 - 180 x + 403 ( 12 x + 12 )

5
1

935
3

That was a lot of work. Notice however, that after we did the first substitution that we didnt
multiply everything out. The two quadratic terms can be easily integrated with a basic Calc I
substitution and so we didnt bother to multiply them out. Well do that on occasion to make
some of these integrals a little easier.
Solution 2
This solution will be a lot less work since we are only going to do a single integral.
3

D 6 x - 40 y dA = 1

2 y -1

1 3
- y+
2 2

6 x 2 - 40 y dx dy

2 y -1
3
=
( 2 x - 40 xy ) - 1 y + 3 dy
1
2 2

= 100 y - 100 y 2 + 2 ( 2 y - 1) - 2 ( - 12 y + 32 ) dy
3

3
3
1
1
= 50 y 2 - 100
3 y + 4 ( 2 y - 1) + ( - 2 y + 2 )

=-

3
1

935
3

So, the numbers were a little messier, but other than that there was much less work for the same
result. Also notice that again we didnt cube out the two terms as they are easier to deal with
using a Calc I substitution.
[Return to Problems]

As the last part of the previous example has shown us we can integrate these integrals in either
order (i.e. x followed by y or y followed by x), although often one order will be easier than the
other. In fact there will be times when it will not even be possible to do the integral in one order
while it will be possible to do the integral in the other order.
Lets see a couple of examples of these kinds of integrals.

Example 2 Evaluate the following integrals by first reversing the order of integration.
(a)

(b)

0
0

2
3

x 3e y dy dx [Solution]
x 4 + 1 dx dy [Solution]

Solution
(a)

x 3e y dy dx

First, notice that if we try to integrate with respect to y we cant do the integral because we would
need a y2 in front of the exponential in order to do the y integration. We are going to hope that if
we reverse the order of integration we will get an integral that we can do.
Now, when we say that were going to reverse the order of integration this means that we want to
integrate with respect to x first and then y. Note as well that we cant just interchange the
integrals, keeping the original limits, and be done with it. This would not fix our original
problem and in order to integrate with respect to x we cant have xs in the limits of the integrals.
Even if we ignored that the answer would not be a constant as it should be.
So, lets see how we reverse the order of integration. The best way to reverse the order of
integration is to first sketch the region given by the original limits of integration. From the
integral we see that the inequalities that define this region are,

0 x3

x2 y 9
These inequalities tell us that we want the region with y = x 2 on the lower boundary and y = 9
on the upper boundary that lies between x = 0 and x = 3 . Here is a sketch of that region.

Since we want to integrate with respect to x first we will need to determine limits of x (probably
in terms of y) and then get the limits on the ys. Here they are for this region.

0 x

0 y9

Any horizontal line drawn in this region will start at x = 0 and end at x =
the limits on the xs and the range of ys for the regions is 0 to 9.

y and so these are

The integral, with the order reversed, is now,

9

9 x3e y3 dy dx =

0 x2
0

y
0

x3e y dx dy

and notice that we can do the first integration with this order. Well also hope that this will give
us a second integral that we can do. Here is the work for this integral.
9

9 x3e y3 dy dx =

0 x2
0

y
0

x3e y dx dy

1
3
= x 4e y
0 4

dy
0

9
1 2 y3
y e dy
=

0 4

1 3
= ey
12
=

(b)

2
3

1 729
e -1
12

)
[Return to Problems]

x 4 + 1 dx dy

As with the first integral we cannot do this integral by integrating with respect to x first so well
hope that by reversing the order of integration we will get something that we can integrate. Here
are the limits for the variables that we get from this integral.
3

y x2
0 y 8

and here is a sketch of this region.

So, if we reverse the order of integration we get the following limits.

0 x2
0 y x3
The integral is then,
2

3 x 4 + 1 dx dy =

0 y
0

x3
0

x 4 + 1 dy dx

x3

4
=
y x + 1 dx
0
0
2
1 3
= x3 x 4 + 1 dx = 17 2 - 1
0
6

[Return to Problems]

The final topic of this section is two geometric interpretations of a double integral. The first
interpretation is an extension of the idea that we used to develop the idea of a double integral in
the first section of this chapter. We did this by looking at the volume of the solid that was below
the surface of the function z = f ( x, y ) and over the rectangle R in the xy-plane. This idea can
be extended to more general regions.
The volume of the solid that lies below the surface given by z = f ( x, y ) and above the region D
in the xy-plane is given by,

V = f ( x, y ) dA
D

Example 3 Find the volume of the solid that lies below the surface given by z = 16 xy + 200
and lies above the region in the xy-plane bounded by y = x 2 and y = 8 - x 2 .
Solution
Here is the graph of the surface and weve tried to show the region in the xy-plane below the
surface.

Here is a sketch of the region in the xy-plane by itself.

By setting the two bounding equations equal we can see that they will intersect at x = 2 and
x = -2 . So, the inequalities that will define the region D in the xy-plane are,

-2 x 2

x2 y 8 - x2
The volume is then given by,

V = 16 xy + 200 dA
D

8- x2

= 2 16 xy + 200 dy dx
-2 x
2

( 8 xy 2 + 200 y ) 2 dx
=
x
-2
8- x2

= -128 x3 - 400 x 2 + 512 x + 1600 dx

-2

400 3
12800

= -32 x 4 x + 256 x 2 + 1600 x =

3
3

-2
Example 4 Find the volume of the solid enclosed by the planes 4 x + 2 y + z = 10 , y = 3 x ,
z = 0, x = 0 .
Solution This example is a little different from the previous one. Here the region D is not
explicitly given so were going to have to find it. First, notice that the last two planes are really
telling us that we wont go past the xy-plane and the yz-plane when we reach them.
The first plane, 4 x + 2 y + z = 10 , is the top of the volume and so we are really looking for the
volume under,

z = 10 - 4 x - 2 y

and above the region D in the xy-plane. The second plane, y = 3 x (yes that is a plane), gives one
of the sides of the volume as shown below.

The region D will be the region in the xy-plane (i.e. z = 0 ) that is bounded by y = 3 x , x = 0 ,
and the line where z + 4 x + 2 y = 10 intersects the xy-plane. We can determine where
z + 4 x + 2 y = 10 intersects the xy-plane by plugging z = 0 into it.

0 + 4 x + 2 y = 10

2x + y = 5

y = -2 x + 5

So, here is a sketch the region D.

The region D is really where this solid will sit on the xy-plane and here are the inequalities that
define the region.

0 x 1
3 x y -2 x + 5

Here is the volume of this solid.

V = 10 - 4 x - 2 y dA
D

-2 x + 5

3 x

10 - 4 x - 2 y dy dx

= (10 y - 4 xy - y 2 )
0
3x
1

-2 x + 5

dx

= 25 x 2 - 50 x + 25 dx
0

25
25

= x 3 - 25 x 2 + 25 x =
3
0 3
The second geometric interpretation of a double integral is the following.

Area of D = dA
D

This is easy to see why this is true in general. Lets suppose that we want to find the area of the
region shown below.

From Calculus I we know that this area can be found by the integral,
b

A = g 2 ( x ) - g1 ( x ) dx
a

Or in terms of a double integral we have,

Area of D = dA
D

a
b

g2 ( x )
g1 ( x )
g ( x)

dy dx
b

= y g2( x ) dx = g 2 ( x ) - g1 ( x ) dx
a

This is exactly the same formula we had in Calculus I.

Surface Area

Here we want to find the surface area of the surface given by z = f ( x, y ) where ( x, y ) is a
point from the region D in the xy-plane. In this case the surface area is given by,

S =

[ fx ]

+ f y + 1 dA

Lets take a look at a couple of examples.

Example 1 Find the surface area of the part of the plane 3 x + 2 y + z = 6 that lies in the first
octant.
Solution
Remember that the first octant is the portion of the xyz-axis system in which all three variables
are positive. Lets first get a sketch of the part of the plane that we are interested in.

Well also need a sketch of the region D.

Remember that to get the region D we can pretend that we are standing directly over the plane
and what we see is the region D. We can get the equation for the hypotenuse of the triangle by
realizing that this is nothing more than the line where the plane intersects the xy-plane and we
also know that z = 0 on the xy-plane. Plugging z = 0 into the equation of the plane will give us
the equation for the hypotenuse.
Notice that in order to use the surface area formula we need to have the function in the form
z = f ( x, y ) and so solving for z and taking the partial derivatives gives,

z = 6 - 3x - 2 y

f x = -3

f y = -2

The limits defining D are,

3
0 y - x+3
2

0 x2
The surface area is then,

[ -3] + [ -2]

S =

+ 1 dA

2
0

3
- x +3
2
0

14 dy dx

2
3
= 14 - x + 3 dx
0
2
2

= 14 - x 2 + 3x
4
0
= 3 14

Example 2 Determine the surface area of the part of z = xy that lies in the cylinder given by
x2 + y 2 = 1.
Solution
In this case we are looking for the surface area of the part of z = xy where ( x, y ) comes from
the disk of radius 1 centered at the origin since that is the region that will lie inside the given

cylinder.
Here are the partial derivatives,

fx = y

fy = x

S =

x 2 + y 2 + 1 dA

The integral for the surface area is,

D

Given that D is a disk it makes sense to do this integral in polar coordinates.

S =

x 2 + y 2 + 1 dA

2p
0

1
0

r 1 + r 2 dr dq

2p

3
12
2 2
=
(1 + r ) dq
0 2 3
0
2p

1 32
=
2 - 1 dq

0 3
=

2p
3

32
2 - 1